Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise briefly to speak in support of the Excise Tariff Amendment (Aviation Fuel) Bill 2010 and the Customs Tariff Amendment (Aviation Fuel) Bill 2010. As other speakers have already said, these bills will increase the excise on aviation fuel from $0.02854 to $0.03556 per litre and will generate around $89.9 million of additional revenue over the next four years. Notably, fuel excise has not been increased since 2005 and has not been indexed since 2001. Importantly, all of the additional revenue raised will be allocated to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to allow the authority to more effectively carry out its core regulatory responsibilities, including maintenance inspections and standards compliance. I repeat: all of the money raised will go to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. It is not a tax grab by the government; it is a case where the additional revenue will go into the specific operations of a particular agency of government.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is Australia’s air safety regulator. It reports to the Australian government’s Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government and is accountable to the Australian parliament. In response to the member for Wide Bay and the member for Farrer, who are wondering where all of the additional money will go, can I just remind them of some of CASA’s main functions, because its responsibilities and functions are extensive. CASA’s main functions are: developing and disseminating clear and concise aviation safety standards; developing effective enforcement strategies to secure compliance with the safety standards; conducting comprehensive surveillance of the aviation industry; conducting regular reviews of safety to monitor the aviation industry’s performance and to identify safety trends and risks; issuing operational certificates to aviation organisations; issuing licences, aircraft registrations and other permits; carrying out timely assessments of international safety developments; encouraging the aviation industry to maintain high safety standards through education, training and advice; promoting full and effective consultation and communication with all people and organisations that have an interest in aviation safety. I could go on, but I highlight those core responsibilities of CASA to demonstrate the range of responsibilities that the Australian people through its government expect of CASA—and quite rightly so. The Australian people expect the Australian government to ensure that we have the safest airlines possible within Australia. Airline safety is of paramount importance to travellers—(Quorum formed)

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